The “International Aisles” at chain
supermarkets have evolved greatly over the past couple of decades.
Though they probably vary depending on what part of the country you’re
in, most I’ve seen play up the “international” flavor of the designated
aisle with national flags and foods categorized by country.

Amidst the taco and tortilla shells,
rice, salsa, pasta and pasta sauce, there are some authentic
international items, ones imported from the actual country they
represent in the supermarket U.N.

For the first international aisle
expedition, “Around the World in Eight Items or Less,” I’m starting out
cushy — with sweet treats from across the globe.

LionBar
from Nestle (made in U.K.) – Starting in the familiar candy bar land of
England (home to Cadbury), the Lion Bar is blunt yet vague with its
packaging — a comic book lion roaring and the word “Lion” written in
bold comic book font. That’s really not much of a hint of the crispy
rice/chewy caramel/milk chocolate blend, which is exactly the same as
Nestle’s 100 Grand Bar (which is also a pretty weird name for a candy
bar). It’s as good as a candy bar should be, proving

Casali Choco-Bananas (Austria) – When I think Austrian food, I think of … well, nothing
really. But I certainly wouldn’t guess chocolate-covered banana cream
treats were a cultural tradition. Casali’s Choco-Bananas boast proudly
of its “extra fruity” use of “real Chiquita bananas” and come laid out
on wax paper side by side, each one about the size of an average adult’s
pointing finger. If you like bananas, these are delicious, a sweet and
creamy ’nana confectionery dipped in sweet, dark chocolate.

Sultan Brand Turkish Delight
(Turkey) – This one had the best packaging — a Chinese restaurant
menu-worthy photo of the red, pink and white sweets displayed on a dish
so fancy it has a metallic lid.

Elegant. There’s also a rose and the
word “Rose” on the box and a few of different languages with writing
styles lacking alphabetic characters I’m familiar with. On the back is
an informative three-paragraph description of Turkish Delight’s history.
This Turkish Delight was a box of pinkish/reddish gummy material (the
flavor is indistinct, just sweet) doused in white powdered sugar that is
rose scented and flavored. I once sprayed some of my grandma’s
rose perfume into my mouth after chewing a piece of gum for three hours —
so I guess I technically have had this before.

Bauli’s Custard Mini Croissants
(Italy) – The packaging proudly boasts “Product of Italy” on the front,
in the same sized font as “Natural Leavening,” which must be something
really important. Also available in chocolate and apricot, I chose
custard because I saw some cannoli shells and thought these might be
close. Not so much. I hope stealing France’s croissant concept and
putting a tiny dab of custard in the middle of one the size and shape of
a small pig-in-a-blanket is not an Italian tradition. They are
all-natural and contain no trans fats, so I’m guessing not.

Bahlsen’s Choco Leibniz
(Germany) – Bahlsen has been around since 1889 and its bland packaging
confirms it. A Choco Leibniz is a “butter biscuit” covered in milk
chocolate; in ’Merican, that means it’s a chocolate cookie. I’d expect a
butter biscuit to be light and moist, but these are harder, spared only
by the rich chocolate coating.

Lotte Pepero Nude
(Korea) – Korea’s offering to the “biscuit” zeitgeist is a cookie straw
with chocolate in the center. The cookie part and the chocolate part
are both incredibly bland (maybe that’s the “Nude” concept), though it
might work as a coffee stirrer. It’s on par, flavor-wise, with an
off-brand Chips Ahoy-type “biscuit” mixed with a fortune cookie. Bonus
points for having the most languages on the box — English, Vietnamese,
Russian, Arabic and possibly up to six more.

Glica’s Pocky Almond Crunch (Japan) – Though similar in shape to the Pepero cookie sticks, these have the chocolate (and some almond crunch) on the outside,
covering 3/4 of the treat, presumably so you have something to hold
while eating it (corndog style). The sticks are even blander than
Pepero’s and the chocolate is low quality. I’d stir my dog’s coffee with
these.

Gamesa’s Barras de Coco(Mexico) – These hard cookies come in a huge 11-inch-by-9-inch yellow
box, featuring the Barras de Coco (or “coconut bars”) displayed on a
plate with a couple of slices of coconut, next to a cup of coffee.
Obviously, these were made for coffee-dippin’ (and have a slight coconut
flavor), and for that, they’re not too bad. But for snacking? Put them
in the ginger snaps family — only in a serious pinch.